Jackpot How the super-rich really live--and how their wealth harms us all

Mother Jones senior editor Mechanic debuts with a unique look at the "social, psychological, and societal complications that come with great affluence and the reality that so few possess it." Relating the stories of people who have inherited a fortune, won the lottery, or hit some other type of "jackpot," Mechanic notes the awkwardness of having "long-lost friends and relations come out of the woodwork seeking handouts," and explains that no longer having a financial incentive to work can leave one feeling "unmoored." He describes $500 T-shirts and concierge medical services that cost as much as $40,000 per year, but cites evidence that people's sense of how well they're doing in life stops improving once they hit the "satiation point" of $105,000 in annual earnings. Mechanic also takes a skeptical view of "grand philanthropic gestures" made by billionaires who avoid taxes and underpay their workers, discusses the influence of money on politics, and sketches the origins of the "wealth fantasy" in American culture. Mechanic's nuanced perspective on wealth accumulation offers fresh insights, though he spends more time chronicling success stories than analyzing the structural forces that rig the economy in favor of the affluent. Still, this is an intriguing look at the boons and burdens of wealth. (Apr.)

Is getting filthy rich really worth it? Mother Jones senior editor Mechanic offers a harsh wake-up call for the millions of American dreamers who still believe that winning the lottery--or just simply having obscene wealth--will change their lives for the better. The author ushers readers past the velvet rope to reveal the lifestyles of the ultrawealthy and the ever more expensive ventures they have to indulge in to not only keep themselves amused, but to outdo their wealthy peers. One of the most interesting factoids in this well-researched book is that, according to one study, a person's "self-reported positive emotions improved with rising earnings up to a satiation point at about $65,000 per year. Negative emotions…declined as earnings increased, reaching an inverse satiation point at $95,000." As Mechanic demonstrates throughout this eye-opening book, once the contentment with one's finances ends, the addiction to "extrinsic" goals--e.g., buying mansions, cars, and other luxury goods--leaves less time for the "intrinsic" pursuits that give us real grounding. The author is a personable guide to this gilded world, showing how the ultrawealthy make their money and how U.S. tax laws and loopholes allow them to keep building it--but he also provides a cautionary tale about the myriad headaches that unbridled wealth can bring. Mechanic is happy to report that the rich are often bored and miserable--and (surprise!) less compassionate unless they can balance their extrinsic and intrinsic pursuits. Though the text is often a gleeful sendup of the absurd eccentricities of the superrich, the author also spotlights a few billionaires who find genuine spiritual contentment in giving their wealth away. "For an actual rags-to-riches tale," writes the author, "one might turn to Ford Foundation president Darren Walker, who grew up penniless in rural Texas and went on to become an icon in the world of philanthropy." A scathing but fair indictment of how the mindless worship of wealth makes us all poorer. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.